Utica, NY (3/27/13)- The Utica College softball team is set for its home opener Wednesday as it hosts Southern Vermont College for a non-conference double-header.

Florida Recap: The Pioneers spent last week competing at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, FL… UC finished the week 5-5 after playing teams from around the country including two schools from Massachusetts, and one each from Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, New Jersey, and Maryland… Utica totaled 43 runs through the ten games.

Ingalls Honored: Senior Mallory Ingalls (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) was recently named both Utica College's Female Athlete of the Week and Empire 8 Player of the week… Ingalls currently leads the Empire 8 Conference in slugging percentage (.742), doubles (five), and RBI (13), and is second in the conference in hits (15), batting average (.484), and homeruns (1).

Offensive Threat: UC has seven players batting over .300 on the season… Sophomore Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) is second on the team with a .440 average… She is also 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts… Classmate Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) is batting .394 with 11 RBI and a conference-leading three home runs… Dominique Carcone (Frankfort, NY/New Hartford) (four), Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) (four), Chelsea Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) (four), Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) (two), and Taylor Ellis (Willet, NY/Greene) (two) have totaled 21 stolen bases for the Pioneers. 

In The Circle: Freshmen pitchers Erica Colucci (Glenville, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) have had impressive starts to their college careers… Colucci has a 0.98 ERA with one win in six appearances… Monroe is 3-2 with a 2.04 ERA and a team-high 18 strikeouts… She was also named E8 Pitcher of the week on March 19… Sophomore Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) is 1-1 on the season, while classmate Cassidy Thompson (Bend, OR/West Valley) has two saves.

Scouting Southern Vermont: The Mountaineers are 1-4 overall after their spring trip to Myrtle Beach, SC… SVC defeated Morrisville State 8-2 before falling to Rutgers-Camden and Clarion twice each… Sophomore Meagan Flemming leads the team with a .429 batting average while Emily Flemming is 1-2 with 10 strikeouts.

Previous Meeting: Last year the Pioneers beat the Mountaineers 9-1 and 10-2, both in six innings…  Junior Meghan Matan (Latham, NY/Shaker) and sophomore Courtney Fitzgerald (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) led the way for UC as they totaled eight hits, eight RBI and five runs scored on the afternoon.

Looking Ahead: UC will host Skidmore College for a double-header on Friday beginning at 3:30 p.m… The Pioneers kick off conference play on Saturday as they travel to Elmira… Game time is set for 1 p.m.


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